Following in the Footsteps of A Hero
by animatedrose
Summary: 8 year old Eric Carson is on a quest to find his older brother's murderer, but he has a few problems. 1: He's being chased by police for being underage. 2: Most of his brother's 500 Pokemon are low level. 3: He doesn't know who he's looking for.


Following in the Footsteps of A Hero

I've decided to post a few of the stories listed on my profile to see what you all think of them. This one is just something I randomly thought of one day. I hope you enjoy it.

Summary from profile: Eric is the younger brother of a Pokemon Master, James Carson. But when his brother is mysteriously murdered and leaves all of his Pokemon to Eric, the young 8-year-old boy must embark on a journey to find his older brother's murderer and take his brother's place as a Pokemon Master. But with danger lurking around every corner and rival trainers plotting to gain the title, and the fact that most of James' 500+ Pokemon (he has more than one of some kinds) are low level, Eric's got his hands full. Not to mention that Prof. Rowan has the police looking for the underage trainer! Can he find the murderer and train his Pokemon without being caught by the police? Based off the Pokemon I really have in my Diamond game.

Following in the Footsteps of A Hero

"And there we have it, folks! Yet another victory for the recently-crowned Pokemon Master, James Carson!" the announcer cried.

Standing on one side of the battle field was a 19-year-old boy with spiky black hair and black eyes. He wore a red and black checkered button-up shirt with rolled up sleeves, blue jeans rolled up at the bottom and frayed a bit, red and white tennis shoes, and a chain necklace with a red teardrop-shaped jewel attached to it. His backpack lay on the ground at his feet as he waved to the camera.

A giant orange lizard with wings and a flame at the tip of its tail stood beside the boy, staring curiously at the cameraman. Suddenly, it walked over and took the camera, lifting it high over its head and looking at it in fascination. "Char?"

"And as you can see, Pokemon Master James' Charizard seems to...um..." the announcer kept glancing nervously at the huge Pokemon standing just a few feet from him. "It seems to really like our camera!"

The Pokemon Master, James Carson, laughed and walked over to the announcer. "Sorry 'bout that. He's pretty powerful but he's highly curious." He turned to his Charizard, one of the strongest of his 500+ Pokemon. "Charizard, put that down!"

The Fire-type obeyed, dropping the camera. The cameraman quickly scooped it up and dashed back to the announcer. "For a Level 70 Pokemon, he sure is mischievous." The cameraman grumbled, wiping the lens of his camera off.

"Indeed. Anyway, that's a wrap, guys!" the announcer shouted.

A woman with long black hair and a man with short but spiky black hair ran up to James and hugged him. "Oh, sweetie!" the woman, his mom, cried. "You've done so well since you left home!"

"Well, bucko, where do you plan on going now? The Kanto or Johto Leagues?" the man, his dad, asked.

"Maybe, dad. Now, where's Eric?" James asked. "He still has my Buizel."

"I'm right here!" A young boy with short black hair and blue eyes popped out from behind his mom, holding the orange otter Pokemon. He was around 8-years-old and was wearing a dark blue T-shirt, black shorts, and sandals. "Aren't you gonna come home now? I miss you and it's boring to play alone, big brother!"

James laughed and knelt down, patting Eric's head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm comin' home today. But I'll be leaving again in a few days, you know."

"I know. I wish you didn't have to." Eric, James' little brother, complained. "I'll miss you. Can you at least leave a few of your Pokemon with me? Please?"

"Maybe, now let me see Buizel." The young boy handed over the Water-type and James stood up. Buizel was fussing over a faint scar on his left arm, trying to cover it up. "Geez, Buizel, chill! Nobody's gonna notice it, I promise. You're getting vainer by the day, I swear."

"Bui!" Buizel chirped, slipping out of his arms and onto his shoulder. "Bui bui! Buizel!"

As the four drove home to Twinleaf Town, they never noticed a shadowy figure watching them leave. "Soon, Pokemon Master James. Soon, that title will be mine!" He vanished, nobody even noticing him.

Once they reached Twinleaf, James and Eric practically jumped out of the car and raced to the backyard. It had been nearly three years since James had been home last and Eric was eager to spend time with his older brother. He never knew when James would be off again for who-knows how long. "Come on, let them out!" he begged.

"Well, okay. Come on out, everybody!" the Pokemon Master said, tossing six Poke Balls. Buizel and Charizard were the two easily recognized ones but the other four were new to Eric. One was a blue and black puppy, one was a green plant with roses for hands, one was a black dog with a white bone-like headpiece, and one was a big black crow that looked like it was wearing a hat. "Say hello to Riolu, Roselia, Houndour, and Murkrow. Have fun, guys!"

As Eric played with James' Pokemon, the neighbors came to say hello to the Pokemon Master. James ignored a lot of them, just smiling and waving. Despite the fact that he was one of the strongest, he hated the publicity. All he wanted to do was be with his family and that was impossible when he had crowds of people barging in with gifts and congratulations for him. It becomes annoying after a while. Family and training were all that mattered to James.

Finally, night fell and everything was quiet. Dinner passed quickly, too quickly in James' opinion. Just before going to bed, his agent called. "Yes...huh? You're kidding! I-I'm sorry, I can't, I'm with my—No, you listen to me! I'm spending time with my family, who I haven't seen in three years! So, you can just...Oh, man! You're serious? God, I just...Fine, I'll come. Meet you tomorrow at 8? Sure, thanks. Bye..." He hung up.

"Honey, who was it?" His mother asked.

"My agent. He says that the Pokemon Masters of Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn wish to meet me personally. I tried to say no but I couldn't." James explained. "I have to leave tomorrow at 8 for the flight to Kanto. I'm really sorry."

"It's all right, Pokemon Masters are very busy. It's understandable." His father reassured. "When will you be back?"

"In a few months, I think. Maybe a year at the most." James replied.

"But you just got home, sweetie!" his mom complained. "Just stay a little longer, please!"

"I can't, mom. I'm sorry." James sighed, looking at his little brother. "Eric, I'll leave all of my Pokemon here with you. My agent has assured me that I won't need them on this trip."

"It's not the same when you're not here." Eric muttered, hanging his head. "I hate your stupid agent. I want to stay home, big brother."

"I want to stay home too." James agreed. "But I can't. I'm really sorry, Eric. Maybe we can play next time I get home. I promise I'll postpone everything so I can stay here for a few months, no matter how important it is."

"Promise?" Eric asked.

"Promise," James nodded.

"Even if the world's going to be destroyed?" his father asked.

"The world can wait. You guys are family." James replied, smirking. "As long as you guys live, the world will always be second to me."

"Good boy!" his father laughed.

"What do you mean by that?" his mother demanded.

"Nothing, nothing! Just a joke!" his father laughed.

As his parents laughed, James took off his necklace and put it on Eric. "Keep this safe for me, okay?"

"But why? Aren't you coming back?" Eric asked.

"I don't know but this sounds really weird from my agent." James muttered. "I've already made my will just in case. If anything happens to me, all of my Pokemon are yours. Deal?"

"But you'll come back, right?"

"I'll try, Eric. I'll try."

The next morning, James boarded the plane and was off to Kanto. As the Carson family was leaving the airport, a huge explosion rocked the area. Screams echoed throughout the halls. Getting a bad feeling, Eric ran back to the main room where the huge glass window allowed you to see the planes coming and going. Pressing his face against the glass, the 8-year-old stared in terror as the remains of Flight 32 crashed to the ground in a smoking, flaming heap.

"BIG BROTHER!!" he screamed.

The paramedics confirmed that there had only been thirty two passengers and two pilots on the plane when it took off. There had been no survivors from the crash. The remains of a bomb had been found in the luggage carrier but the culprit was so far unknown. Was he still at large or did he die in the crash?

The funeral for Pokemon Master James Carson was held the next day. It was raining as if all the Pokemon were crying for him. Eric had found James' will and showed it to the police. They agreed to the terms but decided to withhold the Pokemon from Eric until he became 10 years old. But Eric wasn't going to have any of that.

That night, Eric planned on stealing his brother's Pokemon before the PC was shut down. Just as he was about to walk out the door, the phone rang. Picking it up, he said. "Hello? Who is this?"

"Your brother's murderer, that's who." The voice replied.

Eric froze. _My brother's murder...I'm talking to my brother's murderer..._ "Who are you? Why did you do that? Why did you kill my brother?!" he shouted.

"He had something I wanted." The voice replied. "If you want revenge, you'll have to find me first. Go ahead and tell the police about this call, nobody would believe a little kid."

"Who are you?!"

"If you want to find me, I'll give you a clue as to my whereabouts. I'm in a city with a Pokemon Gym." The voice continued. "Catch me if you can, kid."

"Who are you?! Tell me!"

"No way, kid. Have fun tracking me down. Bye." The voice hung up.

Eric just stood there, holding the phone. _My brother's murderer called. He wants me to find him. Could I catch him? And what did brother have that this guy didn't?_ Then it hit him. _The Pokemon Master title!_

Dropping the phone, he ran out the door and down the path. Just as he passed another house, he spotted his brother's rival walking toward him. "Hey, where are you going?" he asked. The teen had short brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a black and brown-striped hoodie, black jeans, brown tennis shoes, and black metallic bracelets around his right wrist. "It's dangerous to walk in the tall grass without a Pokemon."

"I need to get to Sandgem Town and get my brother's Pokemon!" Eric explained the phone call to the older boy. "Can you please take me to Sandgem? I need to catch him, Clinton!"

James' rival, Clinton, finally nodded. "Sure, why not. But you better be careful. You're training Pokemon illegally, you know. I'll help you get all of James' Pokemon and try to keep the cops away from you, but you have to do something for me."

"Anything, just help me!"

"You have to be my new rival, Eric."

"But you're Pokemon are super strong!"

"Not my Turtwig. He's still Level 5. We can fight with them and get strong." Clinton pointed out. "That way, I get to still train and you get to roam free. Deal?"

"Deal! Now let's go!"

The 8-year-old and the 19-year-old both raced down the path and ran through Route 201. Clinton took out wild Pokemon with his Turtwig, just as he promised. When they finally reached Sandgem, they were lucky that the police hadn't got there yet. Entering the Pokemon Center, Clinton pulled out his laptop and plugged it into the PC. He started downloading all of the Pokemon into the nameless PC, which he called Eric's PC.

"Hurry, Clinton! I think I hear Prof. Rowan and the cops coming." Eric whimpered.

"Hang on, I'm almost...done!" Clinton said, smiling. Unplugging it, he walked behind Eric and unzipped the boy's backpack, pushing the laptop into it. "There, now Prof. Rowan can't take James' Pokemon from you. Now let's get out of here and I'll show you how to use that."

"Okay, but let's go now!" Eric pointed to the doors. Prof. Rowan and Officer Jenny were coming!

Clinton grabbed Eric's hand and dragged him upstairs. "Up here! They'll never know we were here!" the brunette hissed. Eric nodded, going to the top floor with the older boy.

The sounds of footsteps echoed downstairs and the beeping of the PC. Then there was yelling. They found out that the Pokemon were gone. Footsteps went all around the Pokemon Center until a lone set of footsteps started coming upstairs. Clinton grabbed Eric and shoved him behind a plant, hiding him.

Then the person revealed themselves. It was the professor's assistant! She had long green hair bound in a ponytail with her bangs partially covering her right eye. Her eyes were green and she was wearing a red tank top, black pants, black and green tennis shoes, silver-framed glasses, and a red star-shaped earring on her left ear. She smiled upon seeing Clinton. "Hey, Clinton."

"Oh, uh," Clinton hesitated. "Hi, Natalie. What are you doing here?"

"Apparently, someone took all of James' Pokemon from his PC. Do you know who did it?" she asked.

"Uh, no."

"Well, I do know who." In a split-second, she walked around Clinton and grabbed Eric's arm, dragging the younger boy out from his hiding spot. "You know what he did is stealing, right?"

"Yeah, but we had to." Clinton explained the phone call and what he and Eric were planning on doing about it. "Now do you understand? Please, don't tell Rowan or we're officially screwed!"

"Clinton, language!" Natalie growled. "You're around a child. And no, I won't tell Rowan. I want to help catch this murderer too. James was my boyfriend, if you remember correctly, Clinton."

"Yeah, I remember." Clinton groaned. _And she still hates me..._

"Actually, don't you think it's dangerous to let an 8-year-old travel alone?" Natalie asked. "In that case, I'll travel with him and help him catch this guy. Prof. Rowan will be mad at me but this is for James, not Prof. Rowan."

"So you'll help me?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, I'll help you." Natalie nodded. "But we'll have to leave now. Prof. Rowan will realize that I'm taking a long time up here and might send someone to check on me. Ready to go, guys?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Clinton cried, only to slap his hands over his mouth. "Sorry. Let's go!"

Suddenly, a police officer popped up. "Ms. Natalie, did you find—AAH! Prof. Rowan, it's Clinton and Eric! They're here!"

"What are you waiting for? Catch them!" Rowan yelled.

"Shoot! Guys, jump out the window!" Natalie kicked the window out, shattering the glass. She jumped out, followed close behind by Clinton and Eric. They hit the ground running just seconds before the cops burst out of the Pokemon Center. "Head for Route 202! Eric, can you let Charizard out?"

"Uh, yeah. Charizard!" He tossed the Poke Ball containing the high-level Pokemon, releasing him. Charizard roared. "Charizard, we're being chased. You've gotta help us, please!"

"James was murdered and Eric needs your help to find his murderer!" Clinton added. "I know you might not like obeying a little kid's orders but if you don't, you'll be put in storage for two years until Eric becomes ten! You want that?"

"If you don't, use Fire Spin on those cops!" Natalie ordered. "Make them stop following us!"

Nodding, Charizard let loose a burst of flame. A huge wall of fire separated the police from their targets. As the police panicked, Officer Jenny and Prof. Rowan shoved to the front. "Natalie, what are you doing?!" the professor demanded. "What you're doing is illegal! Stop this instant!"

"Sorry, Prof. Rowan, but we're looking for James' murderer." Natalie replied coldly. "I know that this is illegal but I could care less. We're going to bring this guy to justice no matter what!"

"I'm gonna find that guy and get him back for what he did to my brother!" Eric cried.

"But you're just children!" Officer Jenny yelled.

"Who cares but you guys?" Clinton asked. "You can't stop us, got that?"

"Please, stop before you do something stupid!" Rowan barked. "This is insane, you could be killed!"

"So what?!" all three shouted.

"These kids, what's with them?" one police officer asked.

"They're just kids but they're acting like grown-ups." Another agreed.

As one, the trio turned and went down Route 202. Charizard followed, reluctantly following his new trainer. The police did nothing to put out the fire. They just stood there and watched the kids vanished around the bend. After they were long gone, the fire finally died. Officer Jenny ordered patrols to scout the area.

_Do they even know what they're looking for?_ Rowan wondered as he walked back to his lab...alone. Natalie was no longer by his side. _I pray that they know what they are doing. I hope you can catch that man, Eric. If not, we'll be the ones who end up catching you...and putting you under arrest._

--

Well, I hope you enjoy it so far. I'll update this whenever I can but my PMD2 and Shadow Pokemon stories shall be updated first before this one. I hope this is good and worth continuing in the future. Please review!


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